


Kanera: The Metal Ghost

by lordhadrian



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, F/M, Gen, Post-Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal, Star Wars References, Utapau
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 08:18:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6044598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lordhadrian/pseuds/lordhadrian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Ghost crew travel to a smuggler's base in a city on Utapau to gather supplies, and get more than they bargained for with the return of a nefarious villain....</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kanera: The Metal Ghost

Kanera: The Metal Ghost

Kanan sat with Hera as they prepped the ghost for the next mission, but he was in a anxious mood.

"I don't mean to be the sour one-"

"-But you usually are, Kanan." Hera half smiled as she charged up the ship to fly into the atmosphere of Utapau.

Kanan sighed, but smiled as he accepted that she knew him better than he realized "I'm just not comfortable with this infiltration mission. We're dealing with some dangerous smugglers. The Empire at least is predictable."

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Besides, we need to get some extra fuel, and this depot is a gold mine. I know we can pull this off! Diamor city is small, out of the way, and just populated enough that nobody will notice a few extra strangers."

They flew through hyperspace to Utapau, and the rest of the crew checked their gear. Sabine cleaned her guns and counted her explosives for back up emergencies, Chopper did a diagnostics check on the Ghost, Ezra and Kanan meditated, and Zeb simply took a nap. The exited the long tunnel of hyperspace to reach Utapau, and flew casually to the underground city of Nushabad, which looked like a giant sink hole in the Planet's surface. It was not a bustling metropolis, but it was very active with several shuttles and travelers moving about. The Ghost landed on a remote platform and the crew moved out to secure supplies.

"I get the creeps being here" Ezra was a bit tense as he met the maintenance crews handling other ships. "They all remind me-"

"-I know, Ezra. But you have to remember not everyone on Utapau is loyal to the Empire." Kanan tried to dispel the boy's anxiety, since the Grand Inquisitor was from this world.

"Just be relaxed and let Hera do the talking. We pick up supplies and get back home!" Zeb said impatiently.

"Rrw Rwwrrr beep Rrrawr" Chopper looked around and was very curious to mess with shiny computers, but Hera kept the droid close

"I KNOW that's a new Ti-82, but we're not here to go shopping for calculators!"

Chopper harumphed and kept moving, while Sabine took a moment to check out a small jewelry kiosk. She quickly bought some bone charms carved from Utapau'an Nurgle whales, something to decorate her room.

They reached a small depot in a far off tunnel corner away from prying eyes. Kanan walked up to one of the maintenance men who was watching them while working on a data pad.

"I hear you can get anything on Utapau." Kanan said cryptically

"Not just anything." The alien replied.

"You got engine parts for a Nubian?" Kanan continued the code.

"It'll cost you!" The guy replied in code.

Kanan handed him a chance cube, and the guy nodded, their code confirmed the group was here for a fuel stache kept away from Imperial records.

"Piece of cake!" Kanan smiled

"It was beautiful the way you handled that secret password. Brought a tear to my eye." Hera snarked

"Hush!" Kanan smiled back as the maintenance group, brought out several barrels of the fuel not just for the ghost, but for the fleet. Hera handed them a datapad with payment info, courtesy of Commander Sato. Ezra and Zeb casually pushed several barrels back to the ship

Chopper beeped along, more subdued.

Though the trip was without incident at this point, their peace of mind would be shattered quickly by the rogues that hide in Nushabad. A Mercenary tracked the Ghost crew from a distance. A Bounty Hunter named Rice Mangold. He adjusted his goggles and tried to swagger in his worn, rickety Death watch armor, no doubt stolen during the assault on Mandolore in the Clone wars.

"Well, THIS is an interesting turn of events!" he smiled and looked at some of his henchmen "I believe the Empire is looking for this bunch!"

"What do we do, Commander?" One of the thugs held his gun, ready to fight.

Rice, rubbing his fatty double chin, and smiled. "Let's get the dog out! I want to see our puppet cut them down!"

"So be it!" One of the henchmen smiled and ran over to a special container. It was very tall and built with a strong door.

"You sure you want this beast to take them out? They don't look all that tough to me....."

Rice shrugged lazily "The reward for this bunch is 'Dead or Alive'. It'll be less hassle bringing in the bodies, more entertaining to watch my prized droid tear them up!"

One of the henchmen looked through their binoculars at Sabine "Shame really. I bet the Hutts would pay big money for a Mandolorian dancer!" they chuckled like big dumb gundarks.

Rice Mangold shrugged and sighed as he observed the Ghost women "Best not to complicate things...." He dreamed for half a second of being alone with the Twi'lek, not realizing he should be grateful Hera could not hear his gross thoughts.

They opened the large container, and the sounds of metal clacking on the ground made them tremble a little. The metal beast that left the container looked over at the Ghost crew from a distance

"I found you, I reshaped you with a new purpose!" Rice barked at the machine beast under its cloak "Go now, and eliminate the targets!"

The large droid lumbered along. Rice was very proud of his prized droid, a trophy he found and polished up from the Clone Wars.

Hera was prepping the ship, rather amazed that everything was going according to plan. "Wow, Ezra didn't wander off, Sabine didn';t get into any duels and Kanan followed along without arguing with me. A first!"

"Hey now" Kanan hugged her from behind "I think that deserves a nice cheese cake reward!"

"You can have a cheesy kiss" she gently smacked her lips to his with a smile as Zeb and Ezra loaded up the ship.

"Ugh, they're kissing again!" Ezra stuck out his tongue in disgust.

Zeb chuckled "Some day, you won't mind so much....."

Their fun and relaxation was interrupted as Chopper barreled up to the ships ramp with beeping panic.

"What the matter Chopper?" Sabine was a little annoyed as he bumped into her in a panic. Chopper's warblings almost made no sense until everyone saw the large, 8 foot tall droid lumber forward. It's old, skeletal armor was a bit worn, but its yellow eyes had not dimmed completely as it watched Ezra and Kanan light up their sabers.

"Jjjjjjjjedi!!!" the hollow voice called out with a deadly tone.

"I don't believe it!!" Kanan almost faltered with fear "You're supposed to be dead! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!!" Kanan attacked, but everyone gasped as the droid presented four arms with light sabers. While it moved a little rough, squeaked a little from rust, the droid hovered over Kanan with ruthless speed and skill.

Ezra jumped in and helped defend Kanan, but both of them put up a struggle.

"What is it!?" Ezra panicked as the droid put up a flurry of attacks he could barely deflect.

 

"General Grievous! A cyborg from the Clone Wars....but he was killed.....here on Utapau!!" Kanan still could scarcely believe he was fighting the one and only General of the Separatist forces.

The cyborg was not alive, though Kanan saw the dreaded yellow eyes. The innards where his organs were once housed had primitive droid components to bring it to life.

"Jedi...." the droid muttered. Kanan did not sense him as alive, but Grievous' encased head was still intact, its words more of an electrical droid response than any sign of former intelligence. It reacted to the light sabers and reacted with the instincts of its former life without comprehension or sentience into the matter. Its mouth made a sound that was so practiced it would be a natural sound to make.

While Kanan could surmise that Grievous was truly dead and his cyborg body had been cobbled together as an old automaton relic, he also knew from its fighting skill that its danger had not diminished much since the Clone Wars.

That danger was especially realized when it back handed his face, sending him close to the edge of the landing pad. Kanan's eyes were wide for a moment when, looking over his shoulder, he viewed the nearly bottomless precipice of the Nushabad hole.

"KANAN!!" Hera dove for him in terror. She grabbed him with halted breath and one hand while the other aimed a pistol at the undead behemoth. She fired, but it deflected the shot, and almost seemed to laugh. The laugh noise curdled Kanan's blood cold, but he saw the beast raise its sabers to strike down Hera, and he moved them both swiftly away. Sparks and smoke scorched the place they were on just seconds before.

"You big pile of pukey buckets!" Zeb tackled the killer droid, pushing it back, while Sabine blasted at its armor, and Ezra blocked the saber attacks with quickness. Not a refined defense, but Ezra was putting his heart into the fight to save his family.

The Grievous droid grabbed Zeb and threw him to the ground hard.

"Oh, I'm going to feel that tomorrow!" he growled.

The droid, feeling the scorches of Sabine's blasts, rushed at her and scruffed a metal hand around her neck. It lifted her in the air with a victorious laugh reaction.

"NO!!" Ezra charged, sensing it was about to complete its finishing move. The droid fought him for a few seconds. Ezra held his own, but it was too powerful even in its rusted state. Grievous grabbed him by the neck as well.

"Kanan!!" Hera's heart stopped

Kanan rushed up and plunged his saber into the droids inner wiring and processing.

"Jedi!!" It muttered.

"I'll send you back to Hell, Grievous!" He was about to push the murderous beastly droid over the edge, until Chopper rolled up and stuck a plug into it. Chopper started messing with its old programming until the Grievous droid let go of everyone, turned around and started lumbering away.

Everyone recovered silently and watched it leave. Hera hugged all of them together. Kanan looked into her eyes and caressed her face.

"You knew that thing?" Ezra looked up at Kanan "Why did it attack us?"

"It was a ghost from the past.....I never personally fought against General Grievous.....but I know a few Jedi who did. Anyway, we've worn out our welcome here. Let's get the supplies and go."

"Grievous, eh?" Zeb rubbed his sore rib cage "He still has a solid punch for being dead all these years! Where is he going?"

"Yeah, Chopper, what did you make him do?"

Chopper warbled something and shrugged with his little limbs as he climbed back on board the Ghost.

"Sent him back?" Ezra scratched his head "Back to where?"

The crew boarded the ship. Hera held Kanan close and wanted to smother him with kisses "I don't care where it goes. I'm glad I....didn't lose you"

Kanan just looked at her with a loving stare and leaned his forehead to hers. Grateful to be alive, grateful to be looking in her eyes and not the horrible yellow glare of a long dead enemy.

Rice Mangold watched as the Ghost took off and left Nushabad as fast as it came. "We'll get them next time" he muttered. He was about to make a joke about dressing that Twi'lek pilot into a sexy outfit, but his nefarious thoughts were interrupted by a lumbering metal beast that returned. And it still had a menace in its stare.

"JEDI!!" the Droid thing grabbed one of his henchmen and was lifting the thug up by his scruffy neck. Chopper's reprogramming had sent it to commit mischief upon its owners.

Rice sneered as he watched the beast about to tear into his base of operations.

"Ooooh SHI-"

Kanan and Hera let Chopper pilot the ship for a few minutes while they held each other quietly for a long time, just to breathe in the quiet and peace of being safe. Hera gave him the gentlest kiss without anyone seeing.

For Rice Mangold and his men, it became quite apparent that his day would end as unpleasantly as possible.


End file.
